Eccentricity- Lady Gaga Hailed as Best-loved Odd Celebrity

Lady Gaga has been hailed as the world’s best-loved eccentric. The American singer, who is as famous for her unique outfits as she is for her musical talent, beat the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to the top spot.

The pop star became a sensation in the UK after donning steak dresses, telephone hats, and arriving at gigs enclosed in a giant egg.

Boris came in just ahead of heavy metal sensation Ozzy Osbourne, who took third place in the top 50 list.

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, takes fourth place in the study, as he has become renowned for his witty one-liners.

Tthe fifth most eccentric celebrity, as voted by Brits, is Russell Brand.

A spokesman for Nature Valley which conducted the poll of 2,000 British adults to launch its new Sweet & Nutty bar, said:

”British people tend to have a soft spot for anyone out of the norm – anyone who doesn’t conform to the ordinary.

”This is why celebrities such as Prince Philip, Lady Gaga and Russell Brand are close to our hearts.

”More often than not, eccentric attributes are harmless and are actually part of the reason that we love nutty people so much.

”It is hard to dislike or be overly critical of anyone who is a bit nutty as they are often the most brilliant personalities.”

Sixth place on the list of most eccentric celebrities is media personality and journalist Janet Street Porter.

The brilliant Stephen Fry takes seventh place in the poll after turning his hand to directing, acting, writing and presenting.

Other high profile figures to make the top 10 include Eddie Izzard, Vivienne Westwood and Bjork.

Jedward became unlikely sensations in the UK following their run on the sixth series The X Factor- the Irish twins, best known for their giant quiffs and talking over each other, take 19th place in the study.

Italian footballer Mario Balotelli comes 30th in the poll for random acts of madness such as paying for everyone’s petrol at the filling station, leaving £2,000 in a church collection and camouflaging his cars.

David Dickinson – otherwise known as ‘The Duke’ for his eccentric dress sense – comes in at 31.

Rylan Clark, who lost out in the voting in yesterday’s X Factor also struggled in the eccentric celebrities list, taking 40th place in the poll.

Katie Price came 33rd after living her entire life on the front page of every glossy magazine and television reality programme going since she shot to fame as a glamour girl.

Joan Rivers, Pete Burns, Paloma Faith, Elton John and Johnny Depp also feature in the list.

Interestingly the survey revealed 80% of Brits look up to people who are unique or eccentric individuals – but only one in 10 have any respect for people who try to fit in.

Four in ten claimed stars need to be unique to be classed as a celebrity these days, while one in ten try to emulate the behavior and lifestyle of their favorite controversial star.

Self-confessed unusual comedian Paul Foot, who features in the Top 50 eccentrics list and is famed for his whimsical musings and ‘rants’, also commented on the findings:

”I’m very flattered to be in the list as I view eccentricity as something to be celebrated and even encouraged.

”If everyone conformed to the ‘norm’, what a dull life we would all lead (unless, of course, the norm were being like me), so the UK needs characters like Vivienne Westwood and Boris Johnson to poke, tickle and slap the face of normality.”